The smallest of seeds...In shaping a vision for the future church, there are some things we identify as core values, essential aspects, part of the DNA. The future church will not jettison or abandon the ecclesial past, so much as it will reframe and reimagine what the "old, old story" means given the postmodern situation we find ourselves in.
Without deconstructing a whole lot of what church has been about or addressing every attribute of the psotmodern global context we are in, I hope to begin forming an ecclesial structure for the future of our life and work as people of faith. Much work has already been done by Phyllis Tickle, author of "The Great Emergence", Brian McLaren, and many others to identify the reformation of the church that is occurring at this beginning of the next millenium. They have already identified and unpacked this contextual landscape. They are exegetes of culture, cultural liasons, and ethnographers of this age that give language to what we experience and know as people living here and now. Something is emerging in Christianity that departs from or reframes what preceded it in light of that new cultural landscape. Congregations, denominational bodies, and even megachurches are recognizing that former ways of doing church, the paradigmatic systems we've accepted as the only ways to be church, are failing to embody the gospel message in ways that connect, resonate, and give life to God's world. From church scandals to massive oil spills, the world is crying out for a message of hope lived and expressed by an inspired and inspiring people who are willing to devote themselves to living a better way. No current religious system is free enough from the limits we have imposed on ourselves to fully embrace an alternative way. We have a way of gauging corporate success. Drifting away from methods proven effective is tantamount to suicide. But what if those tried and true formulas for being church no longer work? What if attracting people to build an institution that requires more people to sustain it and manage it for the next 100 years doesn't work? Is there another way of being church?
I want to suggest that the future church will be the micro-church. I hope to give insight into this proposal based on my own experiences in Lutheran parish ministry, what I see emerging today, and what I think God is up to in the shaping of a new way of being Christian. As I said above, I am only privilege to be a part of a vast network of thoughtful Christians articulating this vision. They include Alan Roxburgh, Alan Hirsch, Diana Butler Bass and many others. They, too, have caught a vision for a future church that is rooted in ancient history and reaching into God's beautiful future. So, what is a micro-church?
The Micro-church is not a small group or a cell group. It is not a parachurch entity or a youth group. It is not a committee of the whole. A micro-church is a small community devoted to spiritual formation in order to bear spiritual fruit through missional expressions of love and grace. But they will be small; They will be apostolic,and they will be rooted in the message of Jesus.
There are a few essential aspects to the DNA of the micro-church. I will begin to explore them in this and my next few posts.
Micro-churches will profess an apostolic faith. They are connected to each other and to the churches professing faith in Jesus Christ. This faith in Jesus has been handed down and received through an apostolic communion of witnesses. From the first Apostles, sent by Jesus to share the good news in word and deed, every generation raises up leaders, pastors, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, prophets, and servants who pass the message of the gospel to the next generation. An Apostolic church is concerned with sharing this message with those who have not yet received it. The DNA of the micro-church is apostolic, sending faithful servants to tell the bible story in their lives. in the book of Acts, the writer says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and prayer, to koinonia and the breaking of bread." Acts 2:44. Apostolic, a devotion to the teachings and ways of Jesus' apostles. Praying together, sharing possessions and food, and offering themselves in humble service to others became quintessential characteristics of the post-Pentecost church.
St. Francis once said, "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words." An apostolic church is likened to a tree or a vine. (See the gospel of John, ch. 15). There is a deep rootedness to the person, work, character, and ministry of Jesus. And there is an extension of Jesus through the branches that are bearing fruit out in the open. Like a branch, every micro-church is rooted in Jesus, expressed in the practice of Holy Eucharist and in non-tribal fellowship that is fluid and radically welcoming. Micro-churches are not cliques or membership clubs. They are labs, training exercises, and maturing families willing to come together and let go of one another. Without letting go of the vine, the branches grow and change, bear fruit and split. An apostolic church is willing to be blessed and sent in mission, even as it remains connected to Jesus and the whole Christian community.
An Apostolic framework
At its most basic formulation, the church prays the early ecumenical creeds. The Apostles'and Nicene creeds root micro-churches in a story of faith beyond itself, both in place and time. We do not make church what it is, or imagine how to publicly articulate what we believe. We have received the church's story as a gift. We receive the gifts of trinitarian unity so expressed in those ancient words. We recognize that the church's story is imperfect and full of brokenness. We lament and confess our corporate ownership for the parts of the church's story that have not revealed the loving and grace-filled God of the biblical narrative. We lament and confess the ways in which the church has caused undo pain and suffering in the world. In the ways the church has excluded, rejected, and exploited people groups based on race, ethnicity, culture, language, faith expression, and morality we seek a path of reconciliation and healing. We live in a post-tribal, post-denominational age as Christians. We seek to learn and receive the gifts of the ecclesial past, without discarding these gifts on the altars of self-expression and innovation.
I am a confessional Lutheran Christian, whose faith has been shaped by Lutheran language, culture, and interpretation of church life. But I am not so tribal as to exclude or reject the variety of gifts that can be found in the other Christian bodies. Micro-churches welcome this diversity as part of the Holy Spirit's work to fully share the gospel cross-culturally. Micro-churches will be ecumenical in composition, welcoming the stories and practices of Christians from different ecclesial perspectives. The center is Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection ushered in a new age and a new way of life in the world. Micro-churches receive this Christo-centric orientation by faith through the ministry of the Holy Spirit working in the community of believers.
The Apostles'Creed
I believe in God the Father almighty,creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
he descended into hell.
On the Third day, he rose again, accordance with the Scriptures.
He is seated t the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I beleive in the Holy Spirit, the Holy catholic church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Next, we will talk about what it means for the church to be evangelical and sacramental...
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